Ashenafi Kebede
June 8th, 2009 § 1
Dr. Ashenafi Kebede, one of Ethiopia’s greatest cultural treasures–composer, conductor, ethnomusicologist, historical musicologist, music educator, novelest, and poet. Dr. Kebede received degrees from the University of Rochester (B.A. from Eastman School of Music in 1962) and Wesleyan University (M.A. in 1969 and Ph.D. in 1971, both degrees in ethnomusicology).
He founded the National Saint Yared School of Music in Ethiopia, served as its first director from 1963 to 1968. In 1967 he was designated as a “National Composer” by Ethiopian Emperor Haile Selassie I, and was awarded the Haile Selassie I Foundation Grant for Outstanding Achievement in Cultural Affairs, the youngest artist to ever receive that award. Shortly thereafter he began his graduate study in the United States, and became a doctoral student of David McAllester at Wesleyan.
He founded the National Saint Yared School of Music in Ethiopia, served as its first director from 1963 to 1968. In 1967 he was designated as a “National Composer” by Ethiopian Emperor Haile Selassie I, and was awarded the Haile Selassie I Foundation Grant for Outstanding Achievement in Cultural Affairs, the youngest artist to ever receive that award. Shortly thereafter he began his graduate study in the United States, and became a doctoral student of David McAllester at Wesleyan.
There he received the distinction of being the first Ph.D. in ethnomusicology to graduate in that program. Ashenafi had always held Dr. McAllester in his highest regard, and was proud to be counted among a handful of scholars who were part of that important school for the history of ethnomusicology. Included as his colleagues in those formative years for the discipline were Genchi Tsuge (Japan), Jon Higgins (Canada), Héctor Vega (Puerto Rico), and Vishwanathan (India). It was truly a multicultural mix of international scholars.
After several years teaching at Queens College and Graduate School of The City University of New York and Brandeis University, Ashenafi Kebede joined The Florida State University as Director of the Center for Black Culture (later to become the Center for African American Culture). He also became a tenured professor in the School of Music. His accomplishments as Director of the CBC and CAAC were many, ranging from achievements in academia to music and art. He developed the Communiversity which brought university-level coursework to Tallahassee residents. He sponsored a multitude of dramatic presentations, concerts, and art exhibits, all receiving excellent reviews and often characterized by standing-room only attendance.
Some of the most memorable musical events were concerts by Sarah Vaughan, Paul Berliner and Ephat Mujuru (music from Zimbabwe), Djimo Kouyate (music from Senegal), Africa Oyé, From The Blues To Broadway, Saturday Night/Sunday Morning, and many others. Ashenafi was a prolific writer, and his works include a novel (Confession, published in 1964), articles in ethnomusicology journals, a book entitled Roots of Black Music, and numerous articles in The Chronicler (the magazine of the Center for African American Culture, which he edited). He was also awarded numerous grants which enabled the Center to sponsor many events, including the highly successful 1993 Ethiopian Research Council Convention.
As a composer, Ashenafi Kebede has received high esteem in international circles. Hailed as “The Black Kodaly” in Hungary, after conducting his orchestral piece entitled “The Shepherd Flutist” [click here to download the music] in 1967, he has also written numerous chamber works that have an international flavor. One of his favorite techniques was to join Ethiopian and Japanese musical ideas–Koturasia is one of those masterpieces, written for flute, clarinet, violin, and Japanese koto. Born in 1938 in Addis Abeba, Ethiopia, Ashenafi learned about life and its creative potential from his mother, a very compassionate and artistic person. As he explained to his colleague, Dr. Fikre Tolossa, in the early 1990s (Ethiopian Review), “[My mother] wrote beautiful semi-sacred verse and poetry, and recited from memory several of Saint Yared’s melodies. She chanted Praises to [the] Virgin Mary every day, and sang for [me] the Psalms of David playing Begena [a stringed instrument] every night.
She had a great influence upon [my] soul.” His mother died when Ashenafi was nine years old, creating in him a great sadness, as he explained: “I am now over fifty and I have not yet overcome my sadness from her death. I am still heart-broken. That is undoubtedly why everything that I compose is melancholic.” Those of us who knew and worked closely with Ashenafi Kebede are saddened over his untimely and early death. He was a kind, considerate, and loving person who always had a smile for his friends. He gave much and had much to offer. Dr. Ashenafi passed away on Friday, May 8, 1998 at the age sixty.
Source: Dale A. Olsen
Source: Dale A. Olsen
No comments:
Post a Comment